


Bestial and Bloodthirsty

by felixs_thigh_highs



Series: Burn Until We Meet Again [7]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Animal Death, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Feral Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Gen, Mentioned Dedue Molinaro, Mentioned Glenn Fraldarius, Mentioned Tragedy of Duscur, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Protective Sylvain Jose Gautier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:41:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23930257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felixs_thigh_highs/pseuds/felixs_thigh_highs
Summary: Felix the dragon knight pointed his sword at her. “I’d like to see you try, knight!” Then he began to roar in an attempt to intimidate the brave knight. His roars were soon joined by a loud, terrified yelping coming from the direction of the forest.“Wow, that’s some dragon roar, Felix,” Sylvain said from under Ingrid.“That’s not me.” Felix’s voice was small and scared as he pointed toward the forest. “It’s coming from out there.”The yelping pierced the air again, this time more desperate. Ingrid jumped off of Sylvain as he made to stand up. They all listened, trying to figure out what could be making it.“Is that…?” Sylvain began.Felix’s eyes widened in horror.…During the western rebellion in Faerghus, Felix recalls an incident from their childhood when confronted with a feral Dimitri.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: Burn Until We Meet Again [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655503
Kudos: 21





	Bestial and Bloodthirsty

**Author's Note:**

> My explanation as to why Felix calls Dimitri specifically a “boar.” The childhood play scene comes from this adorable comic:
> 
> https://whimsycottt.tumblr.com/post/188946067040/ingrid-did-not-like-being-pigeonholed-into-the

The early Horsebow Moon afternoon in Fraldarius was warm and sunny, so after finishing their training and studying for the day, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, and Dimitri went outside to play until dinnertime.

“Let’s play knights and dragons!” cried Felix, holding up the wooden play sword he had received for his ninth birthday from his older brother, Glenn. “I get to be the knight, Sylvain and Dimitri are the bad guys, and Ingrid is the princess I get to save.”

Ingrid stamped her foot and clenched her fists, anger burning in her forest green eyes. “I don’t want to be the princess. I want to be the knight.”

Dimitri, ever the mediator, stepped forward, a look of amusement on his face. “Come on, Ingrid. You’re the only one who can be the princess.” He pushed his shoulder-length blonde hair behind his ear as he spoke.

Face growing red with rage, Ingrid squeezed her eyes shut and shook her fists up and down in front of her. “I don’t wanna be the princess! I wanna be the knight!”

Sylvain looked between the younger children, the gears in his head turning. As the eldest, it was up to him to make sure that everyone was having fun and getting along (at least, that’s what he told himself). Felix was standing stock still, his eyes red with tears; he had just wanted to play a game with his friends, and now Ingrid was shouting. Ingrid was fuming at once again being relegated to the “girl” role. Dimitri was nervously playing with his hair, unsure of how to deal with Ingrid’s ire. Sylvain watched Dimitri, taking in his long hair and the flowy capelet around his shoulders.

“Wait, I have an idea.” Sylvain stepped into the middle of the group, raising his arms out on either side of himself as if trying to fend off wild beasts. “Ingrid’s right, she’s always the princess. She gets to be a knight this time.”

“But she’s the only girl!” Dimitri cried.

“Then who am I going to save?” whined Felix, dropping his sword on the ground and crossing his arms petulantly. His bottom lip was poking out and his amber eyes were shining with tears of both anger and frustration.

“Hey, hey, guys. It’s okay to switch up our games a little.” Sylvain picked up Felix’s sword and handed it back to him. “Why don’t you be the dragon knight who kidnaps the princess? We’ll make you some fearsome red horns to wear on your head. And you’ll get to roar!” 

Wiping his nose on his sleeve, Felix nodded.

A puzzled look crossed Dimitri’s face. “If Ingrid is the knight and Felix is the dragon--”

“Dragon  _ knight _ !” Felix corrected, holding up his empty hand and crooking his fingers into the shape of claws.

Dimitri ignored him. “Then who am I going to be?”

Sylvain’s eyes twinkled. “Princess. Prince. How different are they really?”

Dimitri’s face fell as he took in Sylvain’s meaning. “All right,” he groaned. “But I get a crown!”

“Absolutely. Let’s go inside and gather the rest of our supplies.”

…

After finding some paper, paint, and another wooden sword for Ingrid, the group set to work making their costumes. When they were dry, they went outside to put them on. Felix clipped his red horns to his head with some hairpins. Dimitri had colored and cut out a pretty golden crown with blue gems, which Ingrid secured in place with the green bows from her pigtails. Since she already had a sword, Ingrid didn’t want anything by way of accessories, but she was adamant about needing a steed.

“I’ll go get Fergie!” Felix ran off to find his pet mastiff, returning shortly with the large black dog. Fergie had been a gift for Felix from his mother for his fourth birthday; it was only two months later when she succumbed to illness.

Ingrid ran toward the dog and hopped on top of him, grabbing onto his blue collar and jingling his golden name tag. “Giddyup, Fergie!”

But Fergie was having none of it; he wriggled frantically until he got out from under the girl, knocking her to the ground, then he ran off. 

“Fergie! Wait, come back!” Ingrid cried after him, reaching out her hand to him. “Oh, man! Now how will I be a knight without a horse?” Fat tears began to roll down her chubby cheeks.

Sylvain sighed heavily as he got down on all fours. “Neigh neigh, Ingrid.”

Ingrid’s face lit up. She dusted herself off and clambered on top of Sylvain, holding tightly to the back of his collar to steady herself. He adjusted it and undid the top button so she wasn’t strangling him.

Felix dragged Dimitri to their back patio, pretending that the low stone wall was the parapet of a high tower. Ingrid nudged Sylvain forward with her heels toward the patio, raising her sword gallantly. He thanked the Goddess that he was large for his age and Ingrid was dainty, despite being a healthy eater.

“I’ll save you, Princess Dimitri!” Dimitri pressed his lips into a thin line, clearly less than thrilled with the arrangement but unwilling to cause more conflict.

Felix the dragon knight pointed his sword at her. “I’d like to see you try, knight!” Then he began to roar in an attempt to intimidate the brave knight. His roars were soon joined by a loud, terrified yelping coming from the direction of the forest.

“Wow, that’s some dragon roar, Felix,” Sylvain said from under Ingrid.

“That’s not me.” Felix’s voice was small and scared as he pointed toward the forest. “It’s coming from out there.”

The yelping pierced the air again, this time more desperate. Ingrid jumped off of Sylvain as he made to stand up. They all listened, trying to figure out what could be making it. 

“Is that…?” Sylvain began.

Felix’s eyes widened in horror. “Fergie! He’s in trouble!”

Acting quickly, Sylvain told Dimitri and Ingrid to go find Lord Rodrigue and tell him what was happening. 

“Felix and I will go find Fergie.” He snatched up Ingrid’s play sword from where she had dropped it on the ground. It wouldn’t be much use for attacking, but maybe it would help keep whatever was out there at bay.

Felix was frozen in place, his horns having fallen sideways on his head, his wooden sword still gripped tightly in his trembling hand. Sylvain grabbed his free hand.

“Come on. If Fergie’s just scared, seeing you will help calm him down. I’m right here.” He tried to smile reassuringly, just as they heard another strangled yelp. Felix grimaced, but his feet finally started moving as Sylvain gently pulled on his arm. They broke into a run toward the forest. Once at the edge of the trees, Sylvain slowed their pace so they could walk more stealthily.

“Stay behind me,” he told the younger boy, stepping in front of him. “I’ll protect you.”

Felix nodded as he lifted his sword in an attempt at being brave, despite the fear still shining in his eyes.

They crept forward, stepping over dry leaves and twigs to avoid making noise, and soon they heard snorting and grunting with the occasional whimper. They followed the sound until they saw what was making it.

A black boar was rooting around the forest floor, its ivory tusks stained red with blood. Its large bristly body was obscuring what was in front of it, so Sylvain motioned for Felix to stay behind the tree that was hiding them from the boar while he tried to silently step around to get a peek. Felix watched him anxiously, eyes darting between his friend and the wild animal. Sylvain craned his head and as he took in the whole scene, and his eyes widened in shock. He quickly tried to make his way back to Felix, but he tripped on a root and fell flat on his face, busting his nose on the ground.

The commotion was enough to draw the boar’s attention from his kill, snorting loudly as he turned his head toward the bloody-nosed redhead.

“Sylvain!” Felix cried, rushing forward from his hiding place to defend his friend. 

“Felix, no! Stay back!” Sylvain tried ineffectually to wave Felix back, blood pouring from his nose.

The boar started advancing on them, probably in an attempt to protect its dinner from what it saw as competitors. Felix stood his ground between Sylvain and the beast, holding his sword out in front of him, trembling terribly. When it was close enough for Felix to smell its fetid breath, an arrow whizzed by his head and hit right between its eyes, dropping it instantly.

Both boys whipped around to look behind them and found Lord Rodrigue and Glenn, Ingrid and Dimitri cowering behind them. Rodrigue lowered his bow and rushed forward.

“Are you boys okay? What happened?” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to Sylvain’s nose to staunch the bleeding. As Sylvain recounted the story, embellishing it to make himself seem more heroic, Felix sidestepped the boar to see what it had killed. At first, he couldn’t tell what it had been before it was mangled; there was just a pile of black fur, red muscles, and bloody bones. It wasn’t until Felix saw a hint of blue and a glint of gold that he realized.

“Felix, no!” Sylvain cried out just as Felix began shrieking. Glenn and Rodrigue were beside him in an instant, fearing more danger. When they saw what had made Felix cry out, they both tried to shield him from the grisly scene.

Sylvain grabbed him from behind, the bloodied handkerchief shoved up his nose, and pulled Felix tightly to him, burying the younger boy’s face in his chest as he sobbed. He stroked his hair as he whispered soothing words.

“I’m sorry, Felix. I’m so sorry.”

“Fergie,” Felix whimpered, digging his fingers into Sylvain’s back as a fresh wave of tears overcame him.

Rodrigue came over to usher all of the children from the forest. Sylvain gripped Felix’s hand as they walked back to the manor, drawing circles over his knuckles in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

“I’m sorry about Fergie,” Rodrigue said as they picked their way over rocks and through underbrush. “Boars are ferocious, bloodthirsty beasts. This time of year especially, they’re driven by their basest instincts to feed and mate, and anything that gets in the way gets gored to death. Fergie probably startled it while it was trying to attract a mate.” Rodrigue paused. “Fergie doesn’t...didn’t usually go out into the forest. I wonder why he did today.”

Behind them, Ingrid hung her head.

“No matter,” Rodrigue continued. “Tonight, we’ll be feasting on boar.”

“Good,” Felix growled. “I love boar meat.”

“What?” Sylvain looked over at him. “You used to say that it was too gamey.”

And sweet little Felix, whose tiny hands so tenderly made flower crowns and who cried when he found a broken bird egg that had fallen from a nest in a high branch, now bore a hardened expression. “Well, I love boar now.” He said nothing the remainder of the trip to the manor.

…

_ Seven years later, western Faerghus _

“Fraldarius! Cover His Highness!”

Felix started to argue and say that Dimitri had that vassal from Duscur to watch his back, but the knight gave him a withering look, and the words died in his throat. He nodded and raced off toward the shock of blond hair in the distance. The stench of death, sweat, and smoke filled his nostrils, and he tried not to breathe too deeply. Ether crackled in the air from the magic being cast on both sides, making the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He jumped over corpses and discarded weapons, refraining from looking down to see the faces of the dead in case he knew any and it caused him to lose focus. 

He dodged a few attacks on the way, easily dispatching a clumsy rebel axe-wielder and an archer who got too close and couldn’t get an arrow notched in time. As he bobbed and weaved, a Thunder spell shot through the space he had occupied just a second prior, but before he could get to the mage responsible, an arrow from a Kingdom soldier took him out. He shot a grateful look toward the archer before continuing on his way.

“Dimitri!” he called once the prince was within hearing range, but his friend didn’t turn around. Instead, he thrust his lance forward, impaling the soldier before him, and jerked it back out just in time to twirl it around to catch the swordsman sneaking up on his blind side. Several paces away, Felix could see the hulking form of Dedue, the boy that Dimitri had saved in Duscur, engaged in his own struggle with a grappler.

Felix ducked under an axe, spinning on his feet to stab his sword up into the fighter’s gut. As he grew closer to Dimitri, he began to hear a distinctive sound, something beyond the usual shouting and grunting of war. Felix pulled up short before reaching the prince, who he found was surrounded by a large pile of bodies. When Dimitri swung his lance around to take out an enemy behind him, they locked eyes.

The prince’s usually clear blue eyes shone with a kind of ferocity that Felix didn’t recognize, a glassiness that didn’t seem to realize he was now looking at a friend. His lips were curled up in a sneer, and feral growls and roars were ripping from his throat. Blood from numerous victims was splattered across his fair face and golden hair, and a red handprint was smeared down the front of his armor. 

For a split second, Felix thought that Dimitri was going to lunge at him, and he brought his sword up in front of him in a defensive stance. Dimitri’s eyes narrowed, poised for the attack, lips pulling back in a snarl. Then the prince fought his way back through his bestial rage, and his eyes softened as he regarded his longtime friend.

“Felix, I’m so glad you’re safe.”

But the damage had been done, and Felix turned from the prince to fight his way back to his knight. Battle had taken another loved one away from Felix, maybe not in the literal sense of death, but in the sense that Dimitri was no longer the boy he had grown up with. He had been different since the Tragedy, more cold and distant, but Felix had thought he could still bounce back from it, that they could regain the friendship they had once had. Now, he couldn’t unsee what his friend had become in the midst of the carnage, and he knew things would never be the same. Dimitri had seemed almost like a man possessed. No, something baser than that.

Something inhuman. Something beastly.

The image of the thing that had killed his beloved childhood pet entered unbidden into his mind.

Boar.


End file.
